Gleanings from the Olivet Discourse, Part 1

Introduction: Returning to the Olivet Discourse for Gleanings

0:03 This sermon was preached on Sunday morning, July 17, 1988, at the Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Those of you who have worshipped with us for any length of time know that for the past several years, the majority of our Lord's Day morning expositions have been taken up with a verse-by-verse study of the Gospel of Mark.

0:37 And in the last of such studies, three Lord's Days ago, we completed our exposition of Mark 13, commonly designated as the Olivet Discourse. While preaching through that chapter, I kept a very tight rein upon myself, refusing either to expand on some vital issues that I desired to expand upon, or even to import...

1:09 related issues from other portions of the Word of God. And my reasons for keeping that tight rein upon myself were basically two. Number one, I desired that we should grasp the basic structure and major thrust of the chapter, since this whole subject of the Olivet Discourse and the issues of the Second Coming have been made issues, of such confusion in our day. And because I desired that you see the internal structure and feel the thrust of the chapter,

1:51 I kept that rein upon myself from either expanding certain aspects or of importing parallel aspects from other portions of the Word of God. My desire, I say, first of all, was that we might have a clear grasp upon the contents of the chapter and the thrust of its importance. And then secondly, I had a desire that matters of legitimate differences on matters pertaining to unfulfilled prophecy would not be highlighted in such a way as to divert our minds from the positive teaching of the passage.

2:34 And I must confess that I have been very encouraged by the feedback I've received from not a few of you indicating that you have been greatly helped in seeing the natural structure of the passage, feeling the internal pressure of the emphasis of the passage, and you have delighted in having the subject of the Second Coming treated in an expositional, non-controversial manner. However, before we press on in our expositions of chapter 14, a chapter which brings us into the events leading to and surrounding the betrayal and the trial of our Lord,

3:18 I want us to return to Mark chapter 13 one more time.

The Structure of Mark 13: A Sandwich Analogy

3:25 And if I were to be under pressure to give a title to this morning's sermon, the title I would give it would be this, The importance, important gleanings from the Olivet Discourse. Important gleanings from the Olivet Discourse. Now, you children, you know what gleanings are, don't you? At least in two places in the Old Testament, God had clearly mandated what we might call a law of gleaning.

3:59 In Leviticus 19.10, God says, Thou shalt not glean your vineyard, neither shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner. I am the Lord your God.

4:14 And in a similar passage, Deuteronomy 24, 19 to 22, you have a directive concerning this matter of leaving gleanings in the harvest. And then in the book of Ruth, you have that wonderful love story of how Ruth was following the reapers of Boaz. And as they left their gleanings, she was given permission to pick them up and to gather them. And that became in the purpose and plan of God, the way in which Ruth was woven into the very texture of the messianic line and became an ultimate great, great, great grandmother of Messiah, our Lord Jesus.

4:57 Well, this morning, we are going to be engaged in some exegetical and some practical gleanings. In Mark chapter 13, we took, as it were, the sickle of very restrained exposition, and we've gone through the field and harvested the basic contents of Mark 13. But we didn't completely gather every last stalk. And we want to go back today and pick up some of the gleanings.

5:32 Now, if we're to do so, let me remind you that we're going to be doing a lot of work. Let me remind you that we're going to be doing a lot of work. Let me remind you briefly of the overall structure and content of Mark chapter 13, and then we'll take up, as time permits, four armfuls of gleanings from this Olivet Discourse. To help you in nailing down the structure of the chapter, think of it as a discourse that has on the front end an introduction, verses 1 to 4, a practical conclusion,

6:04 verses 32, verses 31 to the end of the chapter, I'm not sorry, verse 28 to the end of the chapter, and in between, three main headings. So you have an introduction, three points, and a conclusion. Sounds like good homiletics to me. Or, to change the imagery, for some of you who may be hungry, and you can't think of discourses, but you can think of a sandwich, the top slice of bread is the introduction, verses 1 to 4.

6:32 The bottom slice is the conclusion, verses 1 to 4, verses 28 to 37. And in between, you have three equally distributed pieces of luncheon meat, or whatever your favorite sandwich filler is. Now, if you can remember that, you have the structure of the Olivet Discourse as given in Mark 13. Now, I don't think that's so difficult, and most of you kids know how to make a sandwich.

6:58 And if you remember that in this sandwich, you've got not an open-faced sandwich, but you have a top and a bottom sandwich, With three pieces of lunch meat in between, there you have the basic content of the chapter. You have in the top slice, or the introduction, verses 1 to 4, the exclamation of the disciples, Behold what manner of stones, the startling prophecy of our Lord, not one shall be left upon another. And then the question of the four disciples, When would these things come to pass? Then you have major theme number one.

7:37 Slice number one in the middle of the sandwich is the general characteristics of the inter-advental period. What will characterize the entire age from the time our Lord spoke until His second coming? Well, He said four things would characterize that inter-advental period. There would be religious deception.

8:02 Many shall come in My name. And shall lead many astray. There will be international disruptions, verse 7, wars and rumors of wars, nation against nation. There will be natural calamities, earthquakes and famines.

8:18 And there would be opposition to the gospel. You shall be beaten. You shall be taken before governors. You shall be delivered unto death.

8:26 So there is the major theme, slice number one in the sandwich, the characteristics of the inter-advental, inter-advental period. Religious deception, internal, I'm sorry, international disruptions, natural calamities, and opposition to the gospel. Therefore, our Lord says, don't be led astray thinking that these things, in any combination or concentration of them, are a sign of the end. He says no, verse 7b, these things must needs come to pass.

9:02 The end is not yet. The end is not yet. Don't ever think the next time you pick up a book that analyzes all the wars and the concentration of them in the past 40 years, all the earthquakes, these are signs of the end. Don't be deceived.

9:19 These things characterize the whole inter-advental period. They are not the signs of the end. Then the Lord says, don't be troubled and anxious, verse 7. When you hear of wars, and rumors of wars, don't be troubled.

9:37 Don't let your spirit become unstrung, even by some of the well-meaning prophecy mongers who peddle their wares. Don't be troubled and anxious. Thirdly, don't trust yourself but God's grace, verses 9 and 11. Take heed to yourselves, and when they lead you to judgment, don't be anxious.

10:01 Don't be troubled and anxious. Don't trust yourself, and be anxious, but trust God's grace. And then above all, don't deny Christ, verse 13. He that endures to the end, the same shall be saved.

10:15 So that's major theme number one. Major theme, or second slice, is the destruction of Jerusalem, verses 14 to 23. But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not, let him who reads understand, then let them that are in Judea flee to the mountains, verse 23, take heed, I've told you all things beforehand. The second major theme, or the second slice of lunch meat in the sandwich, pertains exclusively to the destruction of Jerusalem.

10:53 Our Lord gives the specific sign of its near occurrence in verse 14, and then he gives the command, when that sign appears, to flee, to the mountains. And in conjunction with that fleeing, he says there will be four or five difficulties to be overcome, but you must overcome them. I have told you everything beforehand. Then the third major theme, or the third slice of lunch meat in the sandwich, is our Lord's teaching on his own second coming, verses 24 to 27.

11:31 But in those days after that tribulation, then they shall see the Son of Man coming. And so the major theme is the second coming of the Son of Man. The time is indefinite, but the characteristics will be undeniable and visible to all. Now then, we come to the bottom slice of bread, or the conclusion of the discourse, in which our Lord emphasizes basically two things.

12:04 The nearness of the first event, that is the destruction of Jerusalem. He says in verses 28 through 31, that as we know summer is near when we see the fig tree becoming tender and sprouting its leaves, when you see these events coming to pass in conjunction with the Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem, parallel passage in Luke 21, know that the event is near, in fact, he says, it will happen within this generation. Then, with reference to his own second coming, he says the time is unknowable.

12:48 No man knows the day or the hour concerning that event, not even the sun, and therefore we must be watchful. Well, that's the content of the 13th chapter. And may I say from a pastoral perspective, perspective, I would be very grieved if I were to ask any member of Trinity Church who has sat through these expositions, listened to this 12-minute review, and could not give me the basic outline of that chapter. I would be disappointed. I would feel that all of my

13:23 labor to be simple, to be plain, to talk about discourses and sandwiches and lunch meat was in vain. Dear people, I don't think some of you have yet grasped it. I'm not up here earning a living.

13:36 I want you to get hold of the Word of God and have the Word of God get hold of you. And I'm not scolding you. I'm simply entreating you. Lay this to heart, for if you have a handle upon the content and structure of the chapter, you will not be vulnerable to those who would deceive you.

Gleaning 1: Come What May, Preach Christ

13:55 And I remind you, according to Peter's words, it's in conjunction with eschatology, the logical issues that the unstable and the ignorant are led astray to their own destruction. Now, that's basically what we did when we harvested Mark 13. Now we're going to go like Ruth and pick up the gleanings. And I say, if time permits, four bundles of gleanings this morning.

14:23 If we only get two, then my work's done for next week, and I won't have to work quite as hard after coming back from the conference. Preaching four evenings during the week. But gleaning number one, whatever disruptive events occur in the world, we must never be moved from the primacy of preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth. Or more simply stated, come what may, preach Christ. That's the first gleaning

14:58 of Mark 13. Whatever disruptive events occur, in the world, we must never be moved from the primacy of preaching the gospel to the ends of the earth. Now note this emphasis in the passage. In verse 5 of Mark 13, our Lord says, Take heed that no man lead you astray. Many shall come in my name, saying, I am he,

15:36 and shall lead many astray. It's a tremendously disruptive thing when false teachers and false teaching abound. And we, as the people of God, see multitudes of gullible people following the false teachers and their teaching to their own destruction. And that can be so disruptive that we can be tempted to turn aside from our ministry. And that can be so disruptive that we can be

16:06 And our major task is not exposing false teachers or their teaching. That is an ancillary and secondary task. Titus 1.9 says, Every elder who teaches the word of God must be able to refute the gainsayers. But according to this passage, the Lord having prophesied that, then goes on to say,

16:32 verse 7, Added to this disruption, You shall hear of wars, and of rumors of wars. And those things can be tremendously unhinging. How can we plot gospel strategy when nations are in upheaval, and there are volcanic pressures erupting into warfare and into rumors of more wars piled upon the existing wars? Surely we cannot maintain our equilibrium and go right on just plotting and plotting and preaching.

17:06 Ah, but listen, things get worse. Verse 9, Take heed to yourselves. They shall deliver you up to councils and synagogues. You shall be beaten. In the very centers where true religion is to be

17:18 propagated, there is opposition to true religion and to those who propagate it. These apostles, the very mouthpieces of Christ, would be beaten in synagogues. And yet, look what verse 10 says, And the gospel must fall. First, unto all the nations. Look at the parallel passage in Matthew 24, in verse 14. In the parallel

17:49 section, add to this, that in this inter-advental period, verse 12, And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the love of the many shall wax cold. Look at the situation. What could be more disruptive? Here you have, false teachers with their teaching, and multitudes are following them. International disruptions and

18:19 wars and rumors of wars, persecution and opposition in the very centers where truth ought to be preached. Now add to that, a general malaise sets in upon professing Christians. Because iniquity abounds in the world, the love of the many waxes cold. People who once would rather be a Christian, as thislio spoke about prayer, about apostasy, as they said we did that easily indeed to God, but therefore do not respect the Bible anymore, but simply not believe in the gospel.

18:46 So why do we want to believe in the Bible? And where does the Bible lie? Well, the reactions that people make to the Lord,emark the words that Jesus said, as we had two verses both of providence and admonition, so we should believe in it. To pray. Our faith and bili UFO

18:54 Outro God's Love and He Knew Love was good Wecase and HeHolo who- and should be Revelation pre-word extremely simple and complete scripture eternal, can now sit back and soak it in hour after hour, because iniquity shall abound, the love of the many shall wax cold. Yet in all of that terribly disrupted state, notice verse 14 of Matthew 24, and this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole

19:36 world for a testimony unto all the nations, and then shall the end come. This gospel shall be preached for a witness to the nations, then shall the end come. Now, the question is, when the Lord said, this gospel shall be preached, what was he talking about? Well, in the context of Mark, there was no question what gospel he was talking about you remember in chapter 8 in verse 31 he said the son of man must suffer many

20:16 things be rejected by the elders and the chief priest and the scribes and be killed and after three days rise again chapter 10 verse 32 they were on their way going up to Jerusalem Jesus was going before them and they were afraid and he says we go up to Jerusalem and the son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priest and the scribes and they shall condemn him to death and deliver him to the Gentiles shall mock him and spit upon him and scourge him and kill him and after three days he shall rise again as we shall see when we come into chapter 14 he was very

20:57 conscious of where he was going he institutes this supplication of the Lord Jesus Christ and he says we go up to Jerusalem and the son of man says this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many hear me now dear people when our Lord said in spite of all of these characteristics of the inter-advental period which to a greater or lesser degree will mark the entire age from his first to his second coming in varying degrees of combinations of intensity there will be religious deception international disruption natural calamities opposition to the

21:39 gospel general religious apostasy shall be preached and when he said this gospel he meant the gospel that focuses upon the bloodletting of Jesus of Nazareth on behalf of sinners a bloodletting in a violent death by which he would satisfy the wrath of God and rise from the dead thereby constituting a just basis for the forgiveness and acceptance of sinners when he said this gospel he was speaking

22:22 of the gospel which has as its focal point answer to the problem of human sin and alienation from God resolved , resolved in the distinctive redemptive acts of Jesus Christ concentrated in his cross, his tomb and his throne now hear me that gospel has a glorious and rich backdrop the doctrine of creation the doctrine of the absolute sovereignty of God the doctrine of human depravity it has other beautiful parts to its backdrop

23:04 the kingship of Christ over all creation the implications of the gospel for all of life but hear me no part of the backdrop is ever to take the center of the stage and the center of the stage is an immolated bloody crucified abandoned for sin incarnate God who died for us who died for us crucified the just for the unjust rose from the dead on the third day

23:44 and went back to the right hand of God the Father almighty already and sent forth the Holy Ghost in order to validating this and oh dear people my heart has burned within me as I poured over this chapter and you do not know how I have to hold the reign upon myself when I came Because in our own day, there are tremendous pressures upon us to allow disruptive events in the world to move us from the primacy of preaching to the ends of the earth in our generation.

Application of Gleaning 1: Don't Be Paralyzed, Intimidated, or Diverted

24:31 Now let me get specific in my application. Dear people of God, don't be paralyzed into non-activity by fear of events around us. Don't be paralyzed into non-activity by fear of events around us. And how relevant this is.

24:54 I read in my Insight magazine two weeks ago of the recent formal intensification of the...

25:06 What shall we call it to make it intelligible? The commitment of the Pakistani government to make Islam the official religion of all of Pakistan.

25:20 And I thought of Arif and Kathy and the two children. And I said, Lord, should we keep on course? Here is a disruptive event that could result in greater opposition to the gospel in Pakistan. That could result in the escalation...

25:40 Of international tensions where Pakistan has been considered an ally in many ways. This could disrupt something of the tremendous delicacy and the balance of international world powers. And as I read that article and I thought of the implications, how thankful I was I was preaching through Mark 13.

26:02 You see, dear people, when we hear of wars and rumors of wars and militant Islamic movements throughout the world, and the old whore of Rome painted up and dressed up in 20th century finery, looking more attractive than ever to the undiscerning, there is enough to paralyze us. And then when we see good and godly men, some of us have lived long enough, men that we once looked upon as perceptive theologians, and I don't speak of anyone in our immediate circle of contacts in our churches, but men...

26:43 Men of international stature, waffling on the matters of the charismatic movement, waffling on the matter of the place of women in church office, waffling on the issues of scripture. We see the love of the many waxing cold. We could so easily be paralyzed with fear. But no, we come back to Mark 13 and our blessed Lord who saw with great realism what would be the charismatic...

27:13 ...characteristics of the whole inter-advental period, he says with great calmness.

27:18 In spite of all of these disruptive events in the world, this gospel...

27:29 ...in all the world...

27:31 Now notice he didn't say in order to set up a theocratic kingdom prior to the coming of Christ.

27:39 He said in all the world for a witness, and then shall the end come. And dear people, if our Lord could face...

27:47 ...the end of the world...

27:48 ...the end of the world...

27:48 ...all of that, and face his own ordeal of Gethsemane and the cross, and speak so calmly, he that dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

28:04 And we have no grounds to be paralyzed into non-activity through fear, for if our Lord has said this gospel shall be preached, then there are no nations on the face of the earth that can ultimately... ...that can ultimately hinder its progress.

28:20 There are no volcanic eruptions and famines and apostasy in the visible church. None of these things. The gospel shall triumph.

28:34 And therefore we must not be paralyzed into non-activity by fear. Secondly, we must not be intimidated into silence by suffering and by opposition. You see, if Jesus says to these people, they're going to kill you, they're going to oppose you, sons and daughters will hand up their parents to authorities and put them to death, men will be so devoid of natural affection that there will be betrayal within the deep family bonds of father and mother and brother and sister. Tremendous opposition.

29:12 Hated of all men for my name's sake. Yet he says, this gospel shall be preached in all the world for a witness. Then we do not need to be intimidated into silence in the face of suffering and of opposition because the gospel will triumph and often it triumphs most when the suffering and opposition is most intense.

29:38 You know what kind of people we need to be?

29:42 This past week I heard someone say of two men,

29:49 he said, if we ever have to go to the stake, those are the men we want to lead us as we go to die for Christ. Dear people, if there's any holy ambition we should have as a church, it is that. If believers in our generation in America must eventually be cast into prison or go to the stake for the sake of the gospel, may we be a people who by our holy gospel endeavors evidence to all that we will not be intimidated into silence by suffering and by opposition. Thirdly,

30:34 don't be diverted into secondary issues.

30:39 You have to be totally heartless not to be moved when you read this.

30:45 Many shall come in my name and shall lead many astray.

30:51 I'm grieved when I know how many thousands follow Sung Yung Moon. I'm grieved when I see Pope John going around like a pied piper. You know he did study to be an actor for two years before he became a priest and I tell you he could have had an accident. You know he did study to be an actor for two years before he became a priest.

31:09 You know he did study to be an actor for two years before he became a priest. He had an excellent career. He's a masterful manipulator of people. And he is an astute actor.

31:16 And I'm grieved when I see people thinking Rome is essentially different. Just as I'm grieved by that actor who sits at the head of the Kremlin, Gorbachev.

31:28 And I see unthinking, undiscerning American politicians really thinking that there's a different goal in mind because Gorbachev can smile and his wife can have a fancy 20th century hairdo instead of looking like somebody else. Something that came out of the 19th century like all the previous wives of the General Secretaries.

31:50 I tell you when I see those things and realize the implications. Do you think I'm without patriotic feelings? Do you think I'm without feelings when I hear Dukakis talk about a de facto disarming of our nation to accomplish his own liberal oriented goals? I'm a patriot.

32:09 I have grandchildren. I have siblings. When you hear of wars and rumors, of wars in sea and the newsreels, the children that suffer, and the famines in the various parts of the world. Dear people, if you can see all of that and be unmoved, something's died in you.

32:27 Something's died in you. Know when there are famines and wars and rumors of wars and deceivers and many leading them astray. If you have a heart at all, and particularly if God's given you any gifts of public utterance and he's given you his word, the hope to be drawn to these issues is at times almost overwhelming.

32:53 And I'm so glad for this chapter because the Lord who predicted all of those characteristics of the inter-advental period says, look, my people, don't be diverted into secondary issues. This shall be preached. The gospel must be preached unto all the nations. The nations.

33:19 The nations that are warring. The nations that are rumoring of more war. The nations in famine. The nations with earthquakes.

33:28 The nations with apostate churches. This gospel is God's answer.

33:36 The answer is not to gather with everyone who names the name of Christ in Washington and have a big to-do and serve the government. Notice, I read from the July 88 edition, of the Chalcedon Report, number 276, somewhere between a quarter and a half of a million people gathered for 24 hours this spring in Washington, called Washington for Jesus in 88. And you know what they proclaimed?

34:12 Reverend Samuel Hines, black pastor and chairman of the D.C. host committee, said the event, quote, was to put Satan on notice that his day is over.

34:23 Isn't that interesting? Isn't that interesting? Isn't that interesting? My Bible says, My Bible says, My Bible says, My Bible says, My Bible says, Jesus already put him on notice.

34:28 He said, Now is the Prince of Castdown through the cross, not through an undiscerning gathering of everything. Listen now, from broad evangelicals, this man who's a broad evangelical says, at the opening pastor's conference, I did not say his churches, but through his church, God will bring about his will. The one church, one faith, one baptism, against the common enemy. Next paragraph.

35:01 Catholic scholar Michael Scanlon challenged Christians, quote, to put this nation under God, under his government.

35:12 So now we include Catholic scholar as part of the one faith, under the one Lord. Bible teacher Bob Mumford noted charismatic leader for several decades. He was a leading light. Then Dr. James Kennedy of Florida's Coral Ridge Ministries,

35:30 goes on to make the prediction that by the end of the century,

35:36 a majority of the world's population will be professing born-again Christians. This is quoting trends. It's not coming out of Albert N. Martin's noodle.

35:50 It's coming out of this report, the most responsible organ of the so-called Reconstructionist theonomic movement that says the answer to the world's disruptions is that God's law, our word will again be embraced by the nations and we have a plan for victory. My friends, it is uttered with the teaching of our Lord. We must not be diverted into secondary issues of attempting to change world conditions through organized Christian activity that gives up vital doctrinal distinctives.

36:32 I faced a very real temptation some months ago that very few of you know about.

36:39 I was asked, if I would hold a one-day conference in Washington, D.C., twin-billed with the Surgeon General. He would speak the first hour, Surgeon General Koop, on the medical evidence of life in the womb from conception, and Albert N. would speak in the second plenary session

37:04 on the theological issues involved in the evidence from the scriptures of life from conception. I turned it down. You know why? Two reasons.

37:17 Number one, I didn't feel I had the grasp on the languages of the Old Testament sufficient to do the best job. But a second and more primary reason was this, because there were sources available to me. The moment I spoke in such a high profile on one issue, the whole pro-life movement would want to capture me and make me a slave to its cause. And I would not stand on that platform and say it's murder to reach, reach into God's workshop and destroy what he is weaving on the loom in the womb of a mother and not turn to the liberals and the Roman Catholics and others who deny the truth of the gospel and say,

38:01 but there's a worse murder. There's more hope that God may be gracious to those unborn infants than that he will be gracious to people who grow up under a church that teaches salvation is in the sacraments, in their works, in their penance, in their prayers. Oh, no, you would have only to speak against the evils of abortion.

38:29 Dear friends, I've been asked to put my ministry where my mouth is this morning. And that's what I'm calling us to as a church.

38:38 Jesus saw all of the events and all of the circumstances that have become the occasion to divert hundreds of churches from their central task. May God grant that in this first gleam, meaning from Mark 13, we will say as a people, so help us God. No disruptive events in the world of any kind, combination or intensity will keep us from saying we shall give ourselves to the proclamation of the gospel to the ends of the earth

39:22 until our heads are cut off or the Lord comes and takes us home or we wear out and our spirits, Spirits fly into his presence.

Gleaning 2: Come What May, We'll All Be There (God's Elect Preserved)

39:36 Now we have time to take just the second gleaning.

39:40 I'll leave for the conference a little more relieved that I have some work done for next week. Number two, as we go back through the field of Mark 13, with its introduction, its three main points, and its conclusion, here's the second armful of gleanings. Whatever distressing events may come to the world or our country in general, or to the people of God in particular, all of God's elect will be called, kept, and glorified at the second coming. Whatever distressing events may come to the world or to our country in general,

40:24 or to the people of God in particular, all of God's elect will be called, kept, and glorified at the second coming. If the short title for the first gleaning was, Come what may, preach Christ, my short title for the second one is, Come what may, we'll all be there. Come what may, we'll all be there. You say, where do you see that in Mark 13?

40:52 Well, let's look at the passage. You will notice that in the section in which our Lord is dealing,

41:00 both with the destruction of Jerusalem and with the second coming, he uses the word elect three times, and the word chosen, once. All right? Verse 20. And except the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved, but for the elect's sake, whom he chose.

41:26 Elect is the noun, chose the verb, same basic word, he shortened the days. Verse 22. There shall arise false Christ and false prophets, and show signs and wonders, that they may be, and may lead astray, if possible, the elect. And now verse 27.

41:48 Then shall he send forth the angels, and shall gather together his elect, from the four corners of the earth. Now, the word elect, the word chosen, is used in various ways in scripture. Basically, there are four categories in which the word is used. The word elect or chosen, can refer to what we would call, a national election or choice.

42:17 Israel was God's chosen nation. God said, you only have I known of all the peoples of the earth. The theologians call that theocratic election. That's just a big word for national election.

42:30 Then there is election to privilege. That is, certain people are marked out to receive certain privileges. Israel was chosen to receive, the law and the covenants and all of those peculiar blessings from God. Then there is vocational election.

42:53 It says of our Lord that he chose 12 to be his apostles. Among them was Judas. Judas was chosen to a position, to a title, and to a function. But obviously, he was not chosen to salvation.

43:07 For Jesus said, I know whom I have chosen, and one of you is a devil. He knew from the beginning who would betray him. And then the fourth major use is election to salvation, or what the theologians call soteric. They take the Greek word soter, which means savior, and they put an ik on the end.

43:25 Soteric election, that is election unto life and salvation in Jesus Christ, which will ultimately bring us to glory. Now, question. Which election is used in this passage? Some commentators say the word elect refers to the Jews.

43:42 Some say it refers to... To all of God's people.

43:45 Some say other things. Well, I think it's clearly settled by verses 20 and verses 22. Verse 27, I'm sorry, in verse 22. Who are the elect?

43:54 Verse 27. Then shall he send forth the angels and gather his elect from the four winds. What is this but first Thessalonians 4 in a nutshell? That the second coming of Christ, all that are dead and living in saving union with Christ, will be gathered unto Christ, and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

44:19 So the elect in this passage are not national election, Israel, or those elect unto privilege or unto position or office, but this is soteric election unto grace and salvation. We know it also from verse 22, for he says in spite of all of the impressive signs and credentials of false Christs, they cannot deceive the true people of God, that they may lead astray, if it were possible, the elect, but it is impossible, for God's elect are preserved by sovereign grace from the most deceiving of errors.

The Preservation of the Elect in Mark 13

45:00 Now then, bringing the three uses of the word elect together, what do we learn? Well, we learn in verse 20, that for the sake of God's elect, the peculiar trials, that great tribulation, unprecedented and unrepeated, that would come to Jerusalem as a city in 70 A.D., verse 20 says, except the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved.

45:28 Everyone in Jerusalem would have been utterly destroyed, but within that apostate city and nation, God had some of his own chosen ones, and for their sake, whom he chose, he shortened the days. In other words, he worked in the judgment and in the disposition of the generals and their armies and their supplies and the assessment of the concerns of the expansion of the Roman Empire. God was there pulling all the strings. For whose sake?

46:03 Because he had some of his elect, and they couldn't be effectually called to the gospel if they were dead. So that they might be effectually called, he kept them alive. In other words, all of the trauma of that great tribulation in conjunction with the destruction of Jerusalem was ordered in its extent and in its limitations for the sake of God's elect. Think of it.

46:31 For the sake of his elect, he shortened the days. Then verse 22, even when he gives to false Christs and false prophets, the epiphany, the ability to produce true signs and wonders. And the Bible makes it clear. R.C. Sproul, notwithstanding,

46:52 in an editorial in a recent Eternity magazine, saying, if true signs and wonders can be done by those who are not true messengers, then the validating power of signs and wonders is negated. I wish Mr. Sproul had just taken his concordance and looked up the standard words for sign and wonder. And it is clear in the Bible that, God gives power, even in the book of the Revelation, to the embodiment of evil, to the beast and the false prophet, to do signs and wonders.

47:25 And in the Old Testament he says, if a false prophet who does not confess the true God even does a true miracle, don't believe him. God has put him there to test you. Yes,

47:37 unconverted, godless, apostate people can commit true miracles by the permission of God.

47:46 But they can't deceive God's elect. Why? Because, the Lord has set his heart upon their salvation. He will not only preserve them from the physical dangers that would cut them off before they were called, but after they've been called, he'll preserve them from the spiritual dangers that would lead them to apostasy.

48:05 But now, some of them are going to live long enough to get called and preserved, but then they're going to die. The Lord says, I tell you what I'm going to do then, verse 27, when he comes, he shall gather his elect from the four corners of the earth, and, according to, 1 Thessalonians 4, the first ones he's going to take care of are the elect whose bodies are in the grave. He said, I'm going to take care of my dead ones first. The dead in Christ shall then we who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,

48:49 and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Now, what's he saying? Now, put it into this context. Do you feel the preciousness of this gleaming?

48:59 Whatever distressing events may come to the world, to our country as it came to Jerusalem, or to the people of God in particular, they shall deliver you up to synagogues, hated of all men, father and mother delivering up son and daughter, son and daughter delivering up mother and father. Whatever distressing events may come to the world, or to our country in general, or to the people of God in particular, all of God's elect shall be called, shall be kept, and shall be glorified at the second coming. In spite of the general distresses of the inter-advental period, in spite of the peculiar tribulation

49:43 connected with the destruction of Jerusalem, God's elect preserved, called, and glorified. I do want to import one other verse from the book of the Revelation. I've longed for it. I've longed for years to preach on this text.

49:59 Every once in a while I take it off the back burner and put it on the front burner. I let it percolate and simmer, and then it goes on the back burner. If I ever do preach on it, I'm probably going to explode. But I'm just going to quote it this morning.

50:13 Revelation chapter 17 and verse 15. No, not verse 15. Verse 14. These shall war against the Lamb.

50:34 I'm sorry. These shall war against the Lamb. These shall war against the Lamb. I'm sorry.

50:35 These shall war against the Lamb. I'm sorry. These shall war against the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and they also shall overcome that are with him, called and chosen and faithful. You see, they can't be called unless they're kept alive.

50:58 So in the midst of all the opposition of evil in this passage in Revelation, the embodiment of evil in the beast, the people of God are preserved. The people of God are preserved until they are called. And why are they called? Because they are chosen.

51:13 And because they are chosen, they will be kept faithful and preserved from all the deceptive power and the intimidating power of the beast. Isn't that exactly what Mark 13 is saying? Oh, dear people, by way of application, and this is all we'll get this morning, notice first of all what a consolation this must have been to our Lord himself. Where is our Lord going from the Mount of Olives?

Application of Gleaning 2: Consolation, Comfort, and Confidence

51:42 Well, when we open up chapter 14 and begin to expound it, it will become very, very plain. He's on his way to die, and the first significant event that we will expound in verses 3 to 9 is that touching incident of the anointing of our Lord for his burial. He's on his way to be betrayed by Judas. He's on his way He's on his way to being made a hearer of the who he is.

52:08 mysterious agony of Gethsemane. He's on his way to the abandonment and dereliction of the cross in Golgotha. He's on his way to spittle and mockery and jeering. He's on his way to bearing hell in his bosom for his people. What gives him consolation? That the fruit of his suffering will

52:35 be the keeping, the calling, and the glorifying of all of his people. That's why he could press hard. He said, I came down from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the will of him that sent me, that of all that he has given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it at the last day. He goes to his cross a conqueror. Dear people, the doctrine of election

53:06 is not the same as the doctrine of victory. It is the doctrine of victory. It is the doctrine of victory. It is the doctrine of victory. It is the doctrine of victory. It is the doctrine of victory.

53:07 It is not some kind of foreboding, meaty, evil, horrible thing that's been imported by dusty, musty, narrow-hearted theologians. Jesus planted it in the middle of the Olivet discourse when he's talking about wars and rumors of wars and false teachers and deception and trauma and opposition. And he's saying to himself, my confidence that as the gospel is preached, my people shall be saved is that the purposes of my father's electing designs cannot

53:46 be frustrated. What a consolation to the son of God is the doctrine of election. But secondly, what a source of comfort to the followers of Christ. You see what he's saying in this passage?

54:00 Can you imagine how this must have struck his disciples? He says, look, you think it's been bad once in a while having some sour-faced Pharisees sit around? You think it's been bad once in a while to have some people mouth us, bad mouth us? He said, worst is yet to come. You're going to be hated. You're going to be beaten in synagogues. You're

54:22 going to be put to death. There's going to be wars and rumors. I mean, he didn't say too much to encourage. And this is not like John 14, 15 and 16. Let not your heart be troubled. You believe

54:32 in God. Believe also in me, in my father's house. That's beautiful comfort. I mean, this is pretty blunt stuff. This is not like John 14, 15 and 16. This is not like John 14, 15 and 16. This is not

54:39 like John 14, 15 and 16. This is R-rated. This is violent. And yet in the midst of it, this is what he's saying to his own. Look, you are my chosen. You are chosen of my father. And because you are

54:52 chosen of my father, there is nothing that will keep you from being brought home safely at last into the father's presence. Do not be afraid. And oh, people of God, how we need to draw comfort from the doctrine of election. In the midst of all the disruption and the uncertainty, to know that those whom the father has given to him shall come, and having come shall be kept and preserved until the day of Christ.

55:26 Thirdly, what a basis of confidence for the servants of Christ. Not only consolation to the son of God, comfort to the followers of Christ, but confidence to the servants of Christ. Earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, famines, opposition, and even martyrdom cannot frustrate the purpose of Christ to call and to keep and to glorify his elect. Some of you wonder, Pastor Martin, how in the world do you do it? You've been preaching, pouring out your heart for 25 years, and you're still at it.

56:07 You're going to kill yourself one of these days. Fine, I can think of no better way to go. What keeps me going? Well, no little thing is this. I believe God has his elect in this place. Some of you, men and women,

56:23 young and old, who this day have got an inward clenched fist against my God and my Christ, someday that clenched fist is going to be opened, and you're going to be falling prostrate at the feet of my blessed Jesus, saying, Lord, what will you have me to do? Yeah, you will. No way! I got news for you.

56:48 My friend, there's one mightier than your present rebellion. There's one mightier than your present blindness, mightier than your present indifference to my Savior, mightier than your present lack of appreciation for his glory and for his grace. And one day, he's going to open your eyes and say, I see I'm one of them now. I'm one of them now. What is the world but done? What are my peers but

57:16 fellow mortals? No way! It's obstruction. Christ is all and in all. I tell you, that's what keeps us going. It's not

57:26 some thought that eventually I can wear you down. No, my confidence in a moment, God can break you down and bring you bleeding, broken to the feet of his Son. Who would have thought that morning when Saul of Tarsus, with such graphic language, and that doesn't bother me to use graphic imagery and preaching. It's all through the Bible. It says Saul was breathing out threatenings and slaughters. I like to think of those

57:55 little pictures I saw as a kid of those so-called fire-breathing monsters, you know, back in the days of knights and ladies and all the rest, and they'd go out and whack them down with their swords. Well, that's the picture of Saul of Tarsus, breathing out the fire of his venom against the people of God. And that morning when he'd gotten his horse and his eye was steely cold, he had said, I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to

58:19 kill you. And he had seen mothers taken away from nursing babies and committed to prison. He had heard the wail of husbands whose wives were separated from them. He had steeled himself, and he's on his way with official papers in his pocket, and he's going to Damascus. He's going to get some more. Oh, who would have ever thought that morning that by

58:40 noontime he'd be on his face saying, Lord, I've had it. Oh, Lord, I've had it. What will you have me to do? That day, King Jesus, God, on his royal charger of sovereign grace, and he went out to conquer his man, and he got it. And my friend, he's going to get all of his

59:00 people. And that's what gives us confidence. That's why we can send our brother Aleph and his family back to Pakistan. It's not that things are favorable in the present governmental structure. It's not that the winds are blowing favorably in the present climate to

59:18 Americans. No, it's that we believe God has his elect. And his servant is not going on a fool's errand.

59:27 My pastor Dixon can go through the wrenching of embracing his daughter and his grandchildren and leaving them there in the Philippines. Who knows when to see them again? And do it with a measure of joy amidst the pain. Why? In the confidence God has his elect

59:45 there in that place that he's going to call through Steve's labor. My friends, that's enough to keep you going until you preach yourself right out of your skin.

59:58 And that's why we as God's people need never to be discouraged. And as God gives more and more opportunities, I hope you're thrilled when on a given Lord's day, I have to say, like I said today, I've got nobody even leave the service. They're all out preaching, preaching, preaching. Why? The Lord's not sending them on a fool's errand. He's got some sheep he wants to get through his servants. They shall hear the shepherd's voice. There shall be one fold, one shepherd. My last application under this second

Application of Gleaning 2: Constraint for the Unconverted

60:28 gleaning. What a ground of constraint to you who are unconverted. What a ground of constraint to you. You say, constraint for me? Unconverted? You just told us God saves his elect infallibly and certainly. Yet we don't know if we're his elect. Ah, but listen, you didn't get the whole message. He said, first of all, according to this passage, God preserves the lives of his elect so they can be called by the gospel. Unsaved friend, are you alive this morning?

61:00 You look alive to me. I don't see anyone out there who looks like a propped up corpse. You're alive. But wait a minute. Why are you alive? By accident? Others your age are in their graves. Others younger than you are in their graves. Others have contracted dead, dread diseases that have taken them to their graves. You're alive. You've been preserved. You see, that very preservation may be one of the marks of your election. Furthermore, his elect

61:33 are always brought into contact with the gospel. You're not only alive, but you're in this place this morning. You're listening to this tape somewhere in a car, somewhere at home, in a kitchen, wherever you are. You're listening to the gospel. Jesus said, other sheep I have that are not of this fold, them also I must bring. They shall hear my voice. His voice speaking through his servants. My friend, look, you're not only alive, kept and preserved, but the gospel is coming.

62:04 The gospel is coming to you this morning. You faced a preacher who refused to get you all agitated about political issues. I could name large, influential churches where this morning the issues of the democratic and republican platforms is the substance of the preaching, not Christ and his cross and his death for sinners. But you've been told that the heart of the gospel is that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him

62:34 should not perish. You've heard the gospel again. God gets the gospel to all of his elect. My friend, it ought to be of encouragement to you. My unconverted friend, this great truth ought to be a ground of constraint if I've been preserved and I've heard the gospel and there's no word in the Bible that says I'm non-elect. But there are hundreds of words that say I'm a sinner and Jesus welcomes sinners. So I better get this

63:05 to him and take the straightest route today. Oh, my unconverted friend, the doctrine of election is no barrier to your salvation. It is the very framework of entreating you to go to Christ. Go to Christ as you are and take him to be all he is to believing sinners. Oh, there's two bundles of gleanings from Mark 13. Two armfuls is enough for today. But my friend,

Conclusion: Summary and Prayer

63:38 do you see them? My prayer has been, oh God, write these things upon the heart of this congregation so that for years to come it will never budge or swerve from these two great principles. And I merely read the heads and then I am done. The first gleaning is this. Whatever disruptions occur, we are not to move from the primacy of the proclamation of the gospel.

64:09 And whatever distressing events may come to the world, all of God's elect will be called, kept and glorified at the second coming. Let us pray. Oh, our Father, how we thank you this morning for your holy word. Thank you for these truths embedded in this Olivet discourse, forming, as it were, the very texture on which our Lord wove the more specific directives.

64:50 We pray that the Holy Spirit will write them upon our hearts. Lord, for some of your sheep for whom you gave your life's blood, who sit here this morning yet uncalled, may they hear your voice today. And may your voice constrain them to forsake their sins, rise up and embrace you as their only hope of life and salvation. Father, have mercy upon your church in this condition.

65:21 Those who have turned aside from preaching the gospel of an immolated Savior, a crucified Messiah, who preach a gospel of dominion, a gospel of conquest by law, Lord, God, have mercy on them. They're bringing such havoc into the churches. Lord, restrain them, we pray. And we ask, oh God, that our hearts will be nerved for the battle, no matter what.

65:51 No matter what the cost may be, that we will be true to our Lord Jesus, no matter what the opposition may be, knowing that of a certainty he shall call his own with or without our agency. We pray that you'd write these truths upon our hearts and get glory to yourself as we live in the light of them. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.